Thief escapes after Craigslist robbery

STOCKTON - An armed man escaped from police Friday night after stealing a motorcycle and fleeing from officers, authorities said.

The suspect arranged to meet with a 29-year-old man who listed his motorcycle for sale on Craigslist, police said. When the two parties met about 8:45 p.m. near East Swain Road and Kermit Lane, the suspect pointed a black semiautomatic handgun at the victim and fled on the motorcycle, authorities said.

Officers spotted the motorcycle and tried to initiate a traffic stop near West Ben Holt Drive and Inglewood Avenue, but the driver failed to yield and led police on a two-mile pursuit that lasted two minutes, authorities said. The man fled on foot after abandoning the motorcycle near Porter Avenue and Porterfield Court, and police were unable to locate him.

The suspect was described as a black man about 25 years old, 5 feet 6 inches to 6 feet tall with a thin build, black collar-length dreadlocks, a white T-shirt and black shorts.